The shape and design of cabinets for housing the electrical and electronic components of personal computers and computer terminals is becoming more compact and lightweight as the internal components are similarly reduced in number, size and weight. In addition, esthetic and cost considerations are becoming of greater importance in the design and manufacture of computer cabinetry as competition in the sale of personal computers and computer workstations continues to intensify.
Today's typical personal computer or computer workstation comprises the following three components: a cabinet which houses the logic electronics, a detachable keyboard and a monitor. The workstation or personal computer may also include a printer, disk drives, memory, interface logic, modems and other peripheral devices, many of which may also be housed in the electronics cabinet. An electronics cabinet having a low profile and small footprint and which is lightweight offers many advantages over past cabinet designs. A cabinet of such design permits easy set up and transportability, and can easily be positioned on a desktop. The low profile allows mounting of the monitor on top of the cabinet eliminating the requirement of additional desk space, or the need for a large vertical extent to accommodate the monitor. All of the major workstation components can therefore be conveniently located in close proximity to the user.
For both functional and esthetic reasons, it is desirable to mold the electronic cabinet out of plastic. However, this presents a problem in that the top of the cabinet may not by capable of adequately supporting the weight of a monitor or other equipment placed on top of the cabinet. Monitors typically have a weight in the range of twenty-five to one hundred pounds. The distributed load of the monitor load can easily exceed the bending strength of the cabinetry thus creating a sag in the cabinet top, endangering the enclosed electronics and providing a wobbly condition for video viewing.